


Soulmates

by Juniperxyz



Category: Original Fiction - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:29:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27776137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juniperxyz/pseuds/Juniperxyz
Summary: "You're a robot, I am human, that's all there is among us."
Kudos: 2





	Soulmates

The wind whistled through his auburn curls that were drenched from running through the pattering showers. Distorted puddles flashed his reflections, his blurry figure cutting through the luminous rays emitted by the dim street lights. He felt the hem of his beige trousers soak in the muddy water as he dashed down the wet highway, ignorant to road safety with his mind enraptured on one thing and one thing only.  
Out of the blue, a monstrous noise echoed throughout the horizon, followed by thunderous clapping and the blinding flashing of light. Thunder, his mind concluded. At this rate, he doubted if he'd reach home safely.  
However, all hope was not lost as he rounded the corner and entered his neighbourhood. Sensing unsafety while being exposed in a thunderstorm, the man scurried among the allies, before reaching the alleyway leading straight to his destination. Panicky, the man shifted the brown leather briefcase from under his left arm to his right, granting his shaky arm the freedom to place his wrist - a watch containing a hidden entry chip - beneath the camouflaged scanner built onto the back door. Upon hearing the soft beep, he pushed the door open, slammed it shut, and frantically rushed downstairs to his basement.

Being the clumsy man he was, Xavier Walter ignored the plaques scattered across the floor that he'd knocked off; a dangerous consequence for roughly descending down the stairs, as he fumbled for his keyholder. Like his mother always used to joke, "Slow down. No need to hurry, or you'll look like your hair’s on fire!",except that assumption might come true. He had placed last in every athletic competition in his school years, yet he raced like a cheetah all the way from his laboratory to his house. He had never felt his heart beat so loudly in his entire life, it was as if drums were being beaten right next to- no, in his ears.  
Realizing he was getting perplexed once more, Xavier gripped onto the doorframe of his basement while attempting to stabilize his breathing. His bloodshot green eyes darted around the back wall of the secluded room until they paused on the lopsided rusty antique box; a forgotten gift from a distant cousin. Hopping over the bicycle laying on the floor, he opened the stiff box slightly and jammed his watch-adorned hand into it, wincing from the feeling of rough wood digging splinters into his arm.  
“Please hurry, please hurry, please hurry….”, he chanted repetitively, head swirling with anxious thoughts. Xavier threw his head backwards, mind immersed in pain until bright blue light stung his eyes. Twisting his body sideways, the man’s eyes inspected a blue outline of a circle etched onto the floor. He carefully stepped right below its base and triggered the shape’s descent into the earth, way beyond his line of sight. After the whirring noise of the motor dissipated to silence, he released his foot that instantly initiated a hidden command which ejected slabs of metal from the passage’s walls, forming an orderly pattern which mimicked a stairwell. A slim neon blue capped pole rose from the empty gap in the staircase’s middle, providing the only security in his unsafe route.  
Once the blue light faded into sea-green, Xavier carefully removed his hand from the box, and with caution walked down the hazardous pathway, his briefcase tightly secured beneath his arm.  
It was pitch black as he walked deeper into the hole, save for the beams of neon light shining from the steps and the pole - a useful embellishment his intelligent subordinates had suggested. However, as he descended deeper into the hidden portion of his house, he was met by faint white light that gradually brightened, signaling his proximity with the main gate. Hopping off the last step, the man walked towards the well lit electronic entrance, framed by myriad long-lasting blue lights. Ever since he had begun his race, the man finally sensed a slight feeling of relief.  
The man gripped his briefcase like his life depended upon it as he tediously solved all of those mysterious puzzles he had installed for impenetrable protection (he was so exhausted that the basic security procedures seemed like puzzles to him) and almost collapsed from relief when he unlocked the third and final gate 

However, his re-energized pace slowly lost its enthusiasm upon realizing what his next and final detour would lead him to. He paused for a moment, feet shaky from the cold downpour he was showered in, as he inhaled a deep shiver-like breath. Stealing a quick glance at his watch, he pivoted towards the left, repositioning his eyes onto the last bulletproof metal door with it's signature boxy zig-zag split in the middle.  
It took all his willpower to keep his fragile heart sturdy as his eyes skimmed over the thick black print labelling the door.

Sector 14  
Laboratory of Dr. Genevieve Walter

He looked away as quickly as he saw it, sputtering anxiously as he reminded himself of the greater nostalgia and heartbreak he has yet to suffer. Xavier looked up once more, his green eyes shining with strength as he marched towards the door and scanned his watch, allowing him access to the one part he had vowed to never return after her departure.  
Indeed, it has been only five years, but to the 29 year old male, his beloved wife's death felt like it had happened just yesterday. Having married at a young age, the couple had envisioned years of merryfull successes and dreams which they’d fulfill and had vowed to battle each obstacle and hardship that interrupted their way victoriously in the company of each other.  
Except that it happened so fast, his brain barely had any time to comprehend and adjust to the sudden shift in his life. Even after half a decade, Xavier still hasn't gotten over his wife's demise, nor has he received a plausible cause of her betrothed's death. No, he's not referring to that ink-drenched essay like autopsy filled to the brim with rubbish and lies the hospital and his company claimed to be the truth; it would be an insult if he even acknowledged any one of the events "recorded" in that godforsaken report.  
He knew how she died, the doctors knew how she died, her closest friends, her family, even the headquarters; majority of his and his wife's close associates knew the real cause of Genevieve Walter's death, but of course, honesty wasn't in their vocabulary, so he knew he shouldn't be surprised by their frantic actions; spinning a deceitful story to be passed off in place of the dirty truth.  
As the doors slid into their frames, the man tentatively walked into the dark gloomy sector, vivid eyes scanning his surroundings. He quickly swished his left wrist over the door frame, enabling the fluorescent light to wash the room in an eerie blue glow, tube lights flickering gently as they illuminated the whole sector. Despite having not stepped foot here for almost five years, the sector was still as immaculate and clean as ever, considering how the expert system was still kept running by his late wife.

The man turned and approached the small glass room at his far right, labelled in italicised capitals:

UNIT 18

PROTOTYPE OBSERVING CABINS

Entering the unit, Xavier strided to the very end of the long hallway, a door labelled in red “maintenance room”, where his most prized possession hibernated.

He hastily pressed on the few light switches, not bothering for the lamps to fully operate before settling his briefcase over his wife’s workbench, and removed a key from the bag’s front pocket.  
With the limited light, the man squinted through the dim room, and gleefully scurried to the rectangular box jammed between two shelves. Unlocking the dust covered box, he pulled down the heavy lever, turning on the power for the entire subunit.

Heaving a sigh of relief,Xavier leaned against the cabinets, feeling his chest shudder from the constant burden he had bottled within him, and shook even more vigorously as he over thought how it’d multiply.

In the center of the spacious room stood a lone hospital bed, covering an unidentified object beneath its milky white sheet. From the soft small peaks poking from expectable places, the man recognized it to be what he’d been hoping for. Marching forward, Xavier drew back the cloth in one swift action, revealing someone who he hadn’t wished to see in a long while.

When his wife first proposed the idea of manufacturing androids, Xavier gave her his full support and commitment, keen to accomplish this new project enthusiastically. Being weak in modelling, the woman was more comfortable with designing the robot as herself, while giving it minor, yet distinguishable features to differentiate it from her. After it’s making process, they’d only tested it once successfully before her demise, and ever since then the robot was never seen.

Until today.

Despite the small characteristics of the robot, which separates Genevieve from her creation, to Xavier, she was a perfect replica of his lover. The android had the same ginger tresses falling in perfect spirals all the way down to her waist. She withheld the same set of dainty almond shaped eyes, while being small possessed immense power. Her bee stung lips were more plump than ever and tinted with a delicate shade of baby pink. Her bony limbs were no different from her actual body, completely accurate all the way to her rectangular body shape. Not to mention the cherry birthmark imprinted behind her left ankle as well as the scar beneath her elbow.

In his eyes. he was the perfect replica and the best model, but the worst and sadly, the only candidate.

Xavier gently lifted her head and flipped her body with the utmost care, as he shifted through the fibre hair shrouding the back of her head till the light glinted off something shiny and metallic. Fetching his screwdriver, the man dislodged abolt buried beneath the tresses and unlocked the power panel in his wife’s robot’s head.

He stepped towards the workbench, finally opening the top and propped it against the shelf. Nestled among laptop chargers and folded papers laid a velvet navy blue box, similar to a jewelry box. Except that it wasn’t actually one, but a compartment to a minute green chip as big as the man’s thumbnail. His Adam's apple bobbed with fear as sweat trickled down his neck. Grabbing a pair of tweezers, he picked the chip and swiveled to the robot lying face down. Widening the open panel, Xavier used his free hand to shine a mini torchlight over her head that eased his navigation to the chip area. Finding a free spot, he plugged in the chip at the very back row of the panel, ensuring that it’s hidden more complexly than it already is.

Cautious and terrified, the man slowly retreated his hand and shut the panel, screwing back the bolt before plugging the robot to her charging station. It was not until he’d maintained a 6 feet radius from both the robot and the briefcase did he whoop and jump for joy, elated and triumphant with his small but ever-lasting victory. His eyes fell upon the laptop in his luggage and he took it out, impatiently logging into his security system. He quickly shot a short, but crucial message to his involved affiliates:

Chip embedded.

I did it, team!

He tiredly sank to the floor, sliding against the cabinets as exhaustion crept into his nerves. Feeling the need for a break, Xavier pulled himself up and strolled out of the sub-sector, peacefully detouring from the unit. He now could finally sleep without having paranoia terrorizing his only chance at relaxation. The man skipped all the way upstairs, completely ignorant of the mess he hadn’t cleaned up in Unit 18.

The red laser shone upon his ancient looking watch, beeping in confirmation as the circle’s diameter split open to exit him from the clandestine laboratory. He jovially bounced all the way upstairs from his dusty basement, grabbing fresh clothes and a warm soft towel as he hopped into the shower.

While Xavier sang his heart out in the bathroom, deep in the depths of his underground lab, something else sprang into life.

Although he was careful to leave the power on for her to charge fully, as well as to keep up the security system to ensure she doesn’t escape, what he didn’t know however, was that the chip was no ordinary piece. In fact, the information stored within was so valuable and so powerful that it withheld the ability to breach every security system without being caught. In simple words, the chip enabled the robot access to pretty much every part of the lab, manipulating the security system enough to think it’s letting the right members enter.

Her eyes were tightly shut, but that didn’t stop her interface from obscuring her vision with unnecessary system details in bright green text, dozens of words and numbers that were understood within seconds. It was not until a ping echoed internally followed by a confirmation dialogue box did she open her eyes, allowing her eyes to adjust to the eye stinging light. 

The first thing she spotted were the faded metal slabs printed onto the ceiling, offering double the protection than it already had. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a small icon signalling that she was being put on battery, and as she shifted slightly, she felt a force pulling her from her head. Bending forward the littlest as she could, she sifted through her hair until her titanium plated fingers grasped onto the bulky charger, and in one painful tug, she ejected it from her head.

Instantly, her system brightened her vision, disengaging power saving mode as it gathered more information on her surroundings. Perhaps charging was one of her least favourite activities. Tentative, she sat upright and gazed sideways, attempting to recognize where she was. Although her system was slow from hibernating for so long, faint details were being recalled as she concentrated on a workbench, more specifically the brown leather briefcase resting atop it.

Walking up to it, the woman gingerly pried the card buried beneath the piles of rolled paper, recognizing it as the most resourceful material from all, thanks to her computer. It seemed like a natural instinct for her system to pull up profiles of mentioned people from wherever she found them, she concluded, gazing at the dashing smile of what was labelled as Xavier Walter’s icon. Although the man was nearly advancing towards his 30’s he didn’t look a day older than 21.

Then she became surprised, wondering as to how her monitor even had saved standards. What confused her was even though she had a long-lasting retainable memory, she still felt a tingling sense of deja vu that sent goosebumps along her skin as she further pondered about the icon.

Then she wondered again; how the hell can she have goosebumps when she doesn’t have skin?

Too many things were clouding her mind at the moment, and if anything, she required answers for them. Quitting the man’s profile window, the robot racked her minds for a solution, when a glint sparkled from the corner of her eyes.

Twisting her neck sideways, she came face to face with an iron and steel door, as per her annoyingly observant system mentioned, and anxiously sidled to it.

Her gaze dropped down to the mysterious looking scanner, and her heart sank when she realized she was trapped in the room with no access pass, until the door abruptly opened by itself.

She furrowed her eyebrows in uncertainty, taken aback by the liberty she had just discovered. However, the girl was in for a lot more shocks.

She stepped out of the room, only realizing now that it was the maintenance room and passed several hallways covered with suspicious labelled rooms that fought to dominate her rising curiosities. Shaking her head, the girl cleared her cluttered mind and focused on her main goal: finding her main lead, Xavier Walter.

The Robot was granted access through every gate she came across - each submissively surrenduring before she was even given a chance to interrogate it. Was it because of a hidden command from her CPU that she didn't know? No, that wasn't possible. Her system informed her if every command and function before it was initiated, aside from its bothersome over-inspection of her surroundings. By now, the robot had passed exactly eight gates and was bored to tears. Getting lost in mazes wasn't one of her hobbies, and she was desparate for a surprise.

But when she opened the ninth gate, she was met with a new riddle .

Hallways were the only thing she’d been anticipating at this point, but the woman instead found a large circular dimly lit room, with an enormous pole in the center. Suddenly, broad slabs of rectangles were ejected from the walls, forming a pattern which her system picked up as a spiral staircase.

She was about to step forwards, when her vision went red, followed by an alert warning that the stairwell had no banister. This was then followed by cautions reminding of potential damages that could happen if she doesn’t walk with care.

She grimaced at the alert. The woman didn’t know she was that valuable to be protected. She brushed away her questions and held onto the pole as she ascended upstairs, watching her surroundings darken with each step she took. She craned her neck upwards, squinting at the hemispherical outlines glowing on the ceiling. She wasn’t sure where it’d take her too, but it’d hopefully take her to him.

Although all Xavier had to do was place the stolen chip in his wife’s first prototype, to him the small task’s victory was as triumphant as overthrowing the government's assassins. Even though he wished he was able to do that, the man was content that he’d at least succeeded in the first stage of his mission.

Humming an old romantic song, he skipped downstairs while rolling his sleeves upwards. Seeing that it wasn’t too late for dinner, why not prepare a mini feast? At once, myriad recipes for delectable dishes sprang into his mind, ranging from mouth watering indian meals to the savoury menus of traditional Arab food. Perhaps his old love for travelling still thrived in his meals.

After contemplating for several minutes, he had settled upon his favourite dish; delectable butter chicken! It was one of his finest signature dishes, and his late wife’s favourite meal.

Striding to the pantry, the man snatched his apron while gathering the necessary ingredients, before heading to the freezer to pull out some frozen chicken. Filling the saucepan with tap water till his wrists ached, the man set it aside and dunked the raw frozen meat into it. Suddenly, the abrupt ringing of his smartwatch distracted him from his cooking. However, when checking the caller ID, he was pleased to find out it was his long time best friend, Arthur Artemis.

“Hey Arthur!”, he chirped jovially, after fitting in his earpiece.

“Hello, Xav. You sound quite cheerful tonight.”, his friend joked.

“Oh, you know, mate. I finally did it!”, he yelled excitedly, “You have no idea how much of a burden it was to me, carrying that chip for days after having it.”

“Tell me about it!”, his friend sighed with understanding. Although very few people were involved in this mission, Xavier didn’t trust any scientist more than his companion Arthur. After having lost his wife at the hands of these ruthless data scientists, he really had no one else to confide into aside from Arthur.

“Where do I start from even, this whole night was so hectic, I tell you.”, he complained.

“You broke something, didn’t you?”, he teased.

“Arthur!”Xavier shrieked, grateful his friend couldn’t see his shame coloured cheeks that showed his guiltiness for having smashed a few decoration pieces.

“I’ll take that as a yes!”, his friend chirped playfully.

Grunting in annoyance, he quietly mumbled, “You could at least congratulate me.”  
“Okay!”, he agreed cheerfully, much to the man’s surprise. He didn’t expect his friend to be this kind, considering his personality for teasing his closest best frie-

“My widdle sonny did so well today, I’m going to cry, my big boy.”

“Gah!”Xavier rolled his eyes, irritated by being fooled by him, “Totally didn’t expect for you to act nice all of the sudden.”

“Yeah! , the man chuckled, “totally!”

A moment of silence passed between the two men, filled with the sizzling of vegetables in oil and Arthur’s soft deep breathing.

“Hey…”, the latter spoke in a low voice, “I hope you're taking care of yourself…."

The man looked up from his pan, slightly caught off guard from the shift in his friend's cheeky attitude.

"I mean, you've taken up such a huge responsibility, please don't go hard on yourself.", Arthur advised, his concerned behavior mimicking that of a worried parent.

"Relax, I won't stress myself.", he reassured, before biting his tongue on the realization that he'd already broken that vow. Moreover, his life was at stake in this operation. To not take stress would have won him a world record.

"Hm, I hope you don't," . A soft yawn, heavily paired with drowsiness, echoed through the call, accompanied by the man's raspy voice, "Well, I'm getting tired now. Goodnight, and don't sleep late."

Xavier hummed in response, turning off the stove and ending the call while internally retorting how it was past 2 am and he'd barely have any time anyways. Still, he wished he could talk to his best friend more often. Maybe it was because of his work and this operation, but lately the 29 year old had been feeling more and more lonely.

It couldn't be helped, Arthur was without a shadow of doubt the man's greatest companion. After all, the duo had been there for each other through thick and thin times, and it was obvious they'd still support each other up to this day, even amidst this fatal mission they’re undertaking.

After months of aggressive and fiery debating, the peace party’s leader, Ardayn Thomas finally won in the elections, and was voted as President of the United States. However, several weeks later, things took an unexpected turn when riots started occurring in several states all over America, all anti-Peace party followers unleashing a rebellion in response to the election; or so he thought.

In reality, the protestors weren’t there to express their dissatisfaction regarding the President, but to cause an uproar to distract news reporters and civilians from the real anti-peace protestors who were aware of the shady President’s hidden secrets.

Although Ardayn came off as a gentle peace loving man, Xavier Walter was fully aware of the bloodlust that ran deep in his power hungry veins. He had accompanied the previous treacherous ruler’s missions in capturing islands and countries harbouring priceless resources and planned to continue the ruthless operations on significantly larger provinces. However, capturing residents from revolting against his military wasn’t always a permanent solution, considering the larger the land, the more the rebels, so instead of backing down, the foul man’s cunning mind came up with a devious, deranged plan.

This was all top secret information his wife had obtained through her secret mission as an undercover spy at a government owned law firm. In order to not raise any suspicions, Genevieve worked as a data scientist in the connected company’s cyber section.

As reckless as the situation sounded, Xavier never berated his wife’s foolishness, for he was aware how crucial this matter was for her. Being the only survivor when her village was burned at the hands of the demonic ex-President, she had her heart and mind set on avenging her parent’s demise by preventing further injustice.

If only her sense of danger was as powered as her will to fight.

It was a worry that would constantly cloud his concentration, a thought he’d fought tooth and nail to ignore and bury in the deep depths of his mind, but he wished he freed it a bit to at least keep her endangered wife safe from harm. With her quietly forming alliances with hackers and other data scientists at a large government owned weapons manufacturer, it was no surprise, almost expected even that the FBI would track her location down and steal the one woman most precious to him.

The anger hasn’t faded away, even up to this day. He was impressed when he discovered how his wife had received information on highly explosive nuclear bombs that were being developed to be deployed on provinces that resisted the American military forces. With such destructive weapons, it would be easier for those scums to rob the land’s unharmed underground minerals with no person in their way. Genevieve had gone through such great lengths to prevent the fate of her homeland from repeating for other people, she was so thoughtful, selfless and always put others before herself. In fact, when the news of her (orchestrated) death fell upon his ears, he was more proud, touched and grateful for having such a wondrous woman like her in his life than grieving over her departure.

Stupid girl , he thought, a sad smirk curving his lips as he unlocked a worn out briefcase obtained from the car crash that killed Genevieve. He was fed up with the nuisance he had to deal with everyday, fed up of interrogating all the people involved with her, trying so hard to find a good lawyer to fight against the cover up of the woman’s death. But everyone whom he had reached out to decline, and he was completely aware that those greed-poisoned minds possessed no shred of loyalty, so it was of no use.

He wanted to get justice for Genevieve, but evidently clearing up her death isn't working out. Perhaps it’s not because people want to spit out the truth.

Maybe because in her case, clearing her name wasn’t justice for Genevieve.

Xavier hasn’t forgotten his wife’s most desired wish, one which he had promised to aid her as much as she can in fulfilling it.

“Xavier….”, her honey smooth voice was akin to an angel’s as she breathed his name out. Grasping his hands, Genevieve confessed, “You have given me so much and I couldn’t thank you enough, but if there’s one thing that I really want is for people to be safe, happy and free from the oppression our vile President is putting them through.”

It wasn’t a demand, she wasn’t asking him for a favour, but rather explaining why he couldn’t fight alongside her like they always did. He obeyed, thinking it was for the best when it really was just to protect him from harm’s way. Genevieve knew she was going to die, she knew she was putting her life on the line to prevent the deaths of so many more, and being the compassionate woman she was, she didn’t mind it one bit she had to sacrifice her life for the better.

Xavier’s fingers tightened around the briefcase’s handle, eyes sealed shut tightly so as to prevent any tears from falling out. He had cried his heart out for a whole week, isolating himself from the world while he wept over the loss of his world.

But if anything, the mission only increased the respect and admiration he had for his wife. To be so righteous and altruistic was a quality only heroes depicted in fiction possessed, but Genevieve proved that even with little resources, the average human can do so much in such little time, even becoming something similar to a superhero.

And so it was decided, his wife worked till the end of her days to let justice be served, he refused to let those efforts go into waste. After one month of her death, he had gathered Genevieve’s closest affiliates and his few trusted subordinates and commissioned for a new investigation; preventing nuclear warfare by the United States of America.

Sure, it sounds unachievable, but that’s exactly what a simple data scientist thought before nearly bringing evil to its end.

After days, weeks and months of in depth re-searching, it has come to his attention that nuclear bombs production hasn’t even begun, but it’s blueprint was ready to be multiplied. However, before the blueprint could be used to build the weapons, it was crucial for it to be examined and inspected by experts first. For safety reasons, the organization tasked with constructing the bombs used chips had to use the most advanced security to keep the blueprint from falling into the wrong hands. 

Xavier chuckled when his subordinate explained this part, the irony really amused him.

So the head in charge of the mission stored the nuclear bomb’s data into a well guarded chip, which even had security within itself. Given Xavier’s team’s wide connections, stealing the chip wasn’t much of an issue, but storing it was where the hard part was.

Yes, you heard it right - storing. 

After their Cryptographer, Yoriko Mizuhara, had carefully inspected the chip, she found out it was no ordinary device.

Knowing the weight of the secret stored within the chip, the task’s manager commissioned for a special chip to be made-

-one’s which wires were the prototype of the nuclear bomb.

The shock on their faces was immeasurable, and it was then only when he realized and understood the grave seriousness of the ordeal he’d gotten himself into. 

But it was too late to back down. It was time to change plans.

Amani Nikhat, one of their undercover agents suggested that the team could still advance with their original plan; destroying the chip, but chose a much more secure and clandestine location, safe away from citizens.

But this was no ordinary bomb, these were nuclear bombs; built to wipe out cities, provinces. That scheming President probably planned to detonate them amidst the target’s wars with neighbouring countries to lower suspicion, not that he could eradicate it.

If such a bomb was detonated in a deserted area, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t reach the cities.

It was then when Kim Jaeha, his personal assistant, proposed a plan B.

“Plan B…?”, Xavier’s voice trailed off in confusion.

Jaeha nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, Sir! As of now, a deserted area is the best location, safety of the civilians is our main priority, so surely we should invest more time and money in searching an empty location, perhaps a faraway island to detonate the chip in.”

It was a very small device, a miniature version of the prototype and with their connections, obtaining permissions for an island wouldn’t be much of a challenge. All they needed now was a safe place to secure it. 

Surprisingly, this was the hardest part of their mission. To find a well secured place to store the world’s most deadliest possession without raising any suspicions while staying off the FBI’s radar is a feat not even his victorious wife could successfully pull off.

Xavier’s hands tightened to fist as he thought of his last statement.

No.

It’s true that Genevieve failed, but the whole reason he’s fighting this case was to achieve her final wish, and to protect the thousands of lives that were at stake.

He can not allow himself to fail.

“We can store it in an android.”

The whole group swiveled to Raiysa Mohammed in astonishment, bewildered expressions etched onto their exasperated faces.

Wincing from the horrified expressions, the timid woman tentatively suggested, “U-uhm..you see...since we work in AI development…, why not just store it in one of our cyborgs? They’re well guarded... even more than us, and those are the last places anyone would look them for. Also, only few people have access to androids and all of them are here.”

Despite her overzealous suggestion, Raiysa's proposal was slowly making sense. Barely anyone took interest in the company’s robots and they were only brought out whenever a new interface or an expert system was to be tested.

But it was also too risky. This fatal mission was being conducted behind the director’s back, and if he caught wind of their antics, he and his team would surely be fired and sent to the FBI where they’d obviously get killed for knowing a lot. It was too much of a risk, considering how each and every robot was tested before and during its use in front of the director.

However, even though the risks were high….they really didn’t have a choice.

“...Hm..”, Xavier unconsciously let out a hum, capturing the attention of his subordinates, all eagerly awaiting their leader’s decision.

It was in that moment when a hidden memory unlocked from his heart, and his eyes widened with shock, his heart plummeting to his stomach.

Noticing the change from his placid expression, his closest friend Arthur whispered, “Xavier...are you alright?”

No, I am not.

They couldn’t use the company’s robots, there was no way to do so.

But there was one he could use.

“We’ll do it.”

A mixture of reactions arose from the group, accompanied by a wave of furious protests against the incredulous solution.

“Evidently we have no choice but to secure the chip in a robot.”, he cut through the chattering in his deep stern tone, silencing all voices.

“Of course, it’d cause too many problems to use the company’s robots to harbour the chip, but according to AI programs’ policy, if scientists were to practise their unfinished prototypes, they’d have to use separate robots so as to reduce risks of damage caused by the programs.”

“So where will we get a robot?”Yoriko questioned, semi-shaky voice laced with worry and concern.

After a moment's silence, he answered her, “I have one at home. My wife was very fascinated with robotics, so she gave a hand in constructing her own robot and it’s still in good shape after being kept away for so many months. If I recall correctly, she had even successfully installed a program in it too. It's the perfect candidate. "

Silence filled in the room, each teammate tensely pondering on the dangerous suggestion, unable to come up with a valid counterargument.

Noticing the shift in the meeting's atmosphere, Xavier slowly announced, "So it has been decided. We shall store the chip in Genevieve's Android until we find a suitable location to destroy it," all pairs of worn out eyes were pinned onto him. "Alright?"

No one moved, each distracting themselves and averting from his gaze. However, after a few seconds, everyone eventually nodded in agreement, showing their support for his decision.

Xavier clutched the apron tied around his waist. How foolish had he been, he thought, before lightly slapping himself. No, there was nothing absurd in him keeping a deadly mini bomb in his wife's robot, nothing stupid at all.

Groaning and grunting with vexation, he ran his fingers through his head, an attempt to recollect himself before grabbing a pan.

Lazily, the plugged in his earphones to play his favorite nightly podcast while he prepared the curry.

The man was a very skilled data scientist, who possessed immense knowledge in various fields of Artificial intelligence as well as programming and data collecting. However, if there was one flaw in Xavier, it was his lack of awareness of his surroundings.

So it was no surprise when Genevieve's prototype casually strolled into the house's main hall from the basement, glass eyes keenly examining her surroundings with the curiosity of a child, and eventually found the man facing her backwards.

The absent minded male, on the other hand, was busy listening to the speaker ramble about the fascinating patterns of constellations, completely unaware of the robot's presence.

Before the android could proceed toward him, her system instantly drew a green box around his figure, whipping out paragraphs of unnecessary data. Apparently, according to her CPU, data files of certain people were pre-installed in her memory, allowing her to easily locate the key people she had to serve, and it finally made sense as to why Xavier Walter felt so familiar to her.

Relaxed at the good turn of events, the android approached the man with a smile, prepared to enthusiastically introduce herself, when he turned around first.

Despite the deafening volume of his earphones, the noise canceling device were unable to block the irritating sound of footsteps interrupting his podcast. He thought it was a part of what he was listening to, but the sound was gradually increasing, prompting him to swivel around-

-and encounter the suspicious robot before him.

Out of shock, the man pointed a knife at the prototype, his muddled mind struggling to comprehend the current situation. How is this possible? Wasn't she left to hibernate? How did she get up here, even?

"Who….who are you?", he interrogated, dumbfounded. Stupid! You know who she is! But why is she alive? What happened to the chip?

The robot raised its fibre eyebrow in confusion, not at all expecting such hostile reactions. Did he not know who she was? Wasn't she programmed to serve the people in her data files? It was very likely he was the one who put them inside her CPU in the first place, so why the shock?

But looking from the way Xavier aimed a knife at her heart compartment, it was evident her system wasn't aware about a few crucial details.

She was about to speak up, when her body's fire sensor picked up the fumes of smoke evaporating from the burnt food behind him. So he was eating, it seems.

She wasted no time in swiftly nearing the stove, but the stunned Xavier misinterpreted her selfless actions as an attack and did one action that nearly killed him with shock.

The android was forcibly paused in her tracks. It didn't take long for her system to obscure her vision with several red translucent warning dialogue boxes, and it took a few minutes to clear up her line of sight.

She exhaled with exasperation as she allowed one last warning message to pop up. Her body has been stabbed .

She tiredly, but sternly eyed the knife impaled into her left breast, beady nylon balls backtracking from the plastic handle to a panicky data scientist.

Because she didn't have a nervous system, she felt no pain, and the injury was no more than some small issue to her. 

Although she couldn't say the same for the man in front of her. In fact, she could say it was the opposite for him.

He had just finished his 29th birthday last month, but if anything the man aged 40 years older from the one action he had committed. He was done for, it was over for him now.

No, no, no, no, no, no! What am I going to do? , he cried internally, feeling so close to dying.

Noticing the rapid change from his earlier laid back behavior, the android understood that perhaps her injury was quite alarming and focused her attention towards it.

Curious, she wrapped her fingers around the handle, poised to pull it out before someone stopped her.

“W-Wait!”, Xavier stammered, sweating bullets as he watched the mess exacerbate before his eyes, “You might damage yourself further."

Silently, the woman processed his words by her system, and surprisingly found his statement to be proven wrong. Apparently, her body had a self-healing system built within her, meaning such minor issues could be easily fixed on her own.

“It’s fine.”, were the first words she’d muttered in her low programmed voice.

Xavier was taken aback by her speech. It was a long time since he had dealt with robots, so of course he wouldn’t be accustomed to it. Yet, he strangely found her deep feminine voice to be soothing and serene.

The man watched with awe as she easily slid the knife out of her breast, astonished how the wound patched up and fixed itself. Within seconds, her chest was as impeccable as ever.

“Wow….”, he mumbled, impressed. With shaky fingers, he grasped the knife she handed him and swallowed the nervous lump forming in his throat.

“What’s wrong?”, she questioned nonchalantly, like he hadn’t almost foiled their mission.

“It’s just…”, he struggled with finding the right words. “It’s just I thought you’d get serious damages.”

What followed next was something he totally didn’t expect. It wasn’t the delicate laugh that escaped from her rosy lips, her pearly teeth glinting as she cheekily responded “Was that supposed to hurt?”

It was the strangeness of her actions that strikingly resembles his ex-wife Genevieve's.


End file.
